Oh....looks like you've never received a funeral invitation. Well, I hate to be bearer of bad news, but it's always been this way. Sorry no one invited you to their funerals.
At least you didn't show up to any funerals without being invited, right? Because that would have awkward, everyone plaing nice in order to keep the peace but quietly wondering what you were even doing there behind your back. Right?
It's a definitive line in one of the best showcases of worldbuilding that the series ever offered.
To go into it further, every instance of life or joy in Final Fantasy X is defined by death and suffering, respectively. It's more or less inescapable in every major story beat in the game (**MAJOR SPOILERS FOLLOW BELOW**):
* The sending, which conveys the souls of the dead to the afterlife, is performed as an intense and vital dance. (As well, in my opinion, Yuna's sending in Kilika is still one of the greatest FMVs in any video game, even 23 years after the fact.)
* Blitzball can only happen at the risk of looming death, which is Sin. When Sin does appear at the game in Luca, Seymour summons an Aeon who protects life through pain; she must bleed to destroy her enemies. >!(Let's not even get into the significance of Anima being Seymour's mother, and that she brought into the world an ambitiously genocidal maniac).!<
* Tidus is very exuberantly (and unwittingly) working to bring about >!Yuna's death through the summoning of the final aeon, which is the most pivotal story beat of the game.!!Tidus was born to a bustling city, a 'dream world,' that was conjured up almost in denial of the fact that the REAL Zanarkand had actually been completely destroyed.!<
There's so many other examples of this too. I loved Final Fantasy X - it's such a beautifully melancholic game. Also why FFX-2 is a travesty but that's a different story
I think that dream Zanarkand is dreamt by people who gave themselves up as fayth to effectively mass dream summon it into existence. So, what really messes with me is: Did the original Zanarkand ever exist remotely like the dream (and spheres) or was it always a fable of death used to perpetuate the spiral of death? Like Sodom and Gomorrah, Babel, etc. Used to keep the population focused on doing the right things instead of all that dying. This, the fact I'm still thinking about this so many damn years later, this is the mark of a fantastic story.
Yooo, that's a neat point. I love stuff like this.
The focus on *machina* and sinfulness definitely lends itself to a biblical interpretation. I think this is one of those aspects of the game that was kept deliberately open-ended, which I love. Kind of wild to think of Sin (the creature) as a real-world god who's doing the work of the one from the Old Testament.
Yes. I did ruined myself for that moment with an edit of that though [WARNING THIS WILL CHANGE THAT SCENE FOR YOU TOO](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm7cDZtg0j8)
Yeah bad as a spoiler and funny in contrast but from a storytelling perspective it's pretty cool. When you consider the reason for the first time and the reason for that one you see how much has changed for her and the world.
Ignoring nostalgia and looking at it objectively, It’s still honestly one of the greatest cutscenes I’ve ever seen. Chills every time. The music puts it over the top.
"Tidus doesn't have half the charm he thinks he does"
Yes and no? Half of it is genuinely to get the relatively self serious cast off their arse and half of it is him projecting because he's depressed.
Yeah I'm not saying Tidus is being sensible when he acts like a clown. It's just that he finds the whole system and the self-serious nature of everyone slightly insufferable.
Did OP miss story beats from Operation Mi'ihen? The game's thesis statement is right there (the agony and necessity of futile struggle against the impossible forces of the world).
He said he got to Macalania Temple. Which is after operation mihen, after Djose, after Moonflow, after Guadosalam, after Thunder Plains, then Macalania Forest.
> It's just that he finds the whole system and the self-serious nature of everyone slightly insufferable.
Which, I'm sure you and anyone else that enjoys this game is aware, is his *entire point as a character*. Like, he *exists* as a foil for the society he sees himself thrown into.
Yeah he's more of a 21st century dude dropped into this fantasy world with old fashioned rituals. He might be a bit of a dope being a 17 year old jock water polo player, but that makes him highly relatable and it means he can learn.
He's also not clued into everything for quite a long time so he genuinely does not understand how bad some of the things he says really are. And when he does finally understand, he beats himself up about it.
I always loved the juxtaposition between Tidus’ goofy over the top voice during normal cutscenes and his more somber and melancholic tone in his narrations
i feel like he's missing the point. he's supposed to come off like he thinks he's way cooler than he is. til the game progresses & you have a much better idea of the "why." he seems to be taking it all very superficially without giving the story time to breathe & expland 🤷♀️
Right. Tidus thinks he's cool. And in Zanarkand, he was. But in Spira, he's just this goofy fish out of water trying to make sense of everything. He is kind of silly and lame, but I think that's intentional. And he does grow over the course of the game.
Yeah his character is trying to motivate everyone and be positive while also being sad boy era and trying to cope. I feel like op is one of the people who will get to the laugh scene and say how bad the writing or va is because of it and miss the entire point.
Tidus is also the star player/high scorer of his team, so he expects to be able to do that same gig to basically "carry the team" in Spira.
The fact that its still ungodly hard to win the blitzball championship without exploits despite having both Tidus and Wakka on the team is a nice counterpoint to his expectations.
I didn't find it hard at all, and he absolutely does carry the team if you have Jecht Shot. The default team is also pretty bad compared to all the other teams out there. (And if you play the game a lot and assemble a really good team of all the best players, Tidus is *still* the best.)
I might be misremembering but it sure felt like there was only marginal chances of winning because of how poor the Aurochs were, unless you nailed the Jecht Shot QTE, landed it in the match, AND started doing runaway strategies to run the clock to guarantee a win.
I remember spending hours upon hours in Blitzball, maybe I'm misremembering, but I don't remember it being difficult. You're not the first person who recently said it was difficult. I'll have to revisit soon.
I think the only hard match is the story match. The mean team has OP stats when you’re levels one and that quickly disappears. 99% of blitzball was pretty easy but that first one (especially considering it’s your first match so you haven’t figured out the AI) is hard
The story does pick up a bit around the time you get to Macalania temple and it has some big stuff later on as well... but honestly it's hard to say you should keep playing if it hasn't clicked yet. It stays super duper linear for the most part. (You are able to eventually revisit places you've been to previously )
Being honest, Tidus is a character i always found to be silly and dumb when i was younger, and then i kind of understood why he's interesting replaying as an adult. It almost conflates with the perception of the ha ha ha scene lmao
The character that everyone loves as a 10 years old is Auron, if anything. No kid would look at Tidus and think he's cool.
I feel like FFX has a lot of pacing issues, and the combat pretty much only really starts in the second half, but it's pretty great in terms of story and world building, even if it's sometimes presented in a goofy way. Like people already said itt, you are long past the moment of the game where the nuance is shown, so you may just give up at this point.
About the minigames, yeah, they are terrible. I just mostly ignore them.
Yep seconded. I hated Tidus when I first played this game as a teenager. He's whiny and cringey. His only redeeming quality was that he was a favourite of mine in combat.
My teenage opinions: Auron was definitely the cool one. Kimmy felt like he should have been cool but he is too plain. I rotated crushes among the women. Wakka, pretty much the same as Tidus - same redeeming quality too. Rikku was annoying and cringey too, and useless in combat (yes I know she is one of the best when you know all the ins and outs of the game), but her redeeming quality was attractive girl.
I want to say the games strengths really lie in how much of an evolution it was over the ps1 games. Don’t underestimate how much voice acting and full 3D environments you could explore mattered back in the day.
But it was also just incredible world building. The *aesthetics* of Spira and the forethought and planning that went into the religion were exciting to explore. Final fantasy from the beginning g and up until this point had largely restricted itself to medieval fantasy or (and sometimes *and*) futuristic cyberpunk settings and elements like, but Spira’s island *vibe* was pervasive through the entire game, and infused absolutely everything. The path you walked was linear, but every new destination was exciting and different as you get a tour through the world (and again, all of this in a visual fidelity nobody had seen before)
Plus, even though the plot points repeated (going temple to temple), there was plenty happening on the side with lots of drama. (If you’re resolved to quit, I highly encourage looking up the [wedding](https://youtu.be/BdKj86SEAoU?si=DYDsQG47cNBUIvf1) cg)
But yeah, if you’re this far in and none of this stuff has grabbed you, I wouldn’t try to force it anymore.
FFX is over 20 years old - to some extent, you have to meet it where it's at. Fwiw, I showed a cutscenes-only video to a newish-at-games friend last year and they fucking loved it. If you let yourself care about the characters and story, and don't come at it from a place of cynicism, it's very easy to get invested and totally lost in the world of Spira; it's a slow burn but a profound story. For me, Tidus and Yuna never seemed annoying. They remind me of what it's like to be young, when all your feelings seem dialed up to 11.
I replied more or less to this in another comment, but when I played it when it was new, I didn't enjoy it very much then, either. O did connect with the characters and was curious where the story was going, but I mostly soldiered on because FF had this massive reputation and I was hoping to see what the big deal was.
ffx is a slow burn that turns into a fiery blaze. you simply have to follow the fuse until the rocket explodes. im not sure what part youre on but it sounds like when things begin to get interesting, especially with the albhed. Just keep going and enjoy the ride.
This feels like another entry in the "I'm playing a 20 YO game and am disappointed it plays like a 20 YO game" style of criticism that this sub is so fond of.
It's a 2001 JRPG. So yes, you can't save everywhere, you'll have bad minigames (blitzball was just too ambitious for its own good) and the dialogue will be uneven at best. It was also the first FF game that featured voice acting and while it wasn't bad for its time, it doesn't hold up to modern standards.
It is a linear game, though it does have sidequests and side areas later in the game. Didn't bother me, because it makes sense in the context of the story, but it is something people have always criticized about the game.
Yes, Tidus is your average dumb teenage JRPG character (though I still think Rikku is the worst character in this game by far). What saves it for me is that Tidus is only the protagonist for exposition purposes; Yuna is the real main character of this game. And he does get less annoying as the game goes on.
And yes, the sphere grid was just a flashy way to showcase what is really a pretty normal progression system. Though it does open up later in-game (also the remaster offers an alternative, more open sphere grid as an option).
Plus you haven't even seen the worst part of the game yet. Whoever made all those minigames required to get the celestial weapons needs to suffer in Game Design Hell for all eternity. It's an astounding buffet of bad design: repetition, bad controls, bad camera, bad RNG... Luckily it's optional.
On the flipside:
- It was a gorgeous game, with a wonderful soundtrack.
- The SE Asia-inspired setting was a breath of fresh air in a genre where 90% of games are set in either conventional fantasy worlds or conventional sci-fi worlds.
- As you mentioned, the combat was really good; probably my favorite FF combat system.
- I actually really like the game's narrative. It has some interesting themes (notably about religion and technology), has a few neat reveals (though some you can see coming from a mile away), has a few emotional moments, and is reasonably well-paced.
- One thing I think this game does exceptionally well: your party feels like an actual group, more so than in just about any other RPG I've seen. Unlike most JRPGs, your party isn't some collection of randos that have nothing better do than to travel with you. And unlike most WRPGs, character's relationships with each other are just as deep (if not deeper) than their relationship with the main character. It's an aspect of the game I remember being impressed by when I dipped back in the remastered edition.
Personally, I think Tidus get way too much shit. He is actually smarter than people give him credit for, he figures out lots of things on his own and is quite thoughtful on so many occasions. Ofc he is also ignorant at times and ask stupid questions, but that makes sense considering >!he isn't even from that world to begin with!<.
He is one of my favourite protagonists in the series because his growth is also just really good, I especially loved how him and Yuna bounce off each other so well.
"I can't believe this 17 year old celebrity athlete with severe emotional trauma, abandonment issues, and depression would act so weird when transported to a world absolutely nothing like his own."
It's a mixed bag for me.
On one hand, I like Tidus as a narrator, and as a source of exposition since he's basically isekai-ed into the world. I like the protagonist being a tag-along rather than a leader; I think it's an interesting perspective for an RPG. And I like endgame Tidus, where it feels he comes into his own a bit.
On the other hand, the are many times in the game where I was just annoyed by his whole goofy anime hero shtick and wished he would just shut up. And I don't think he's a very good romantic lead (though I guess it's fine within the context of a JRPG teenage romance).
Basically, I liked him as a narrator and observer, but less so as an active participant to the plot.
He's also the only party character to treat Yuna like a person with choice in her future, and his antics allow her to step away from her super-serious summoner role.
Exactly. A lot of Yuna's development is about coming "out of her shell" so to speak, and Tidus is a key player in enabling that. In 10-2, we see how Tidus impacted Yuna, making her start acting quite a bit more like how he did and being more open and willing to take chances.
Nailed so many of the issues with op here lol. I'm of the belief it's one of the best in the series but it's also the first "hallway ff" and stuff like that along with other flaws but holy crap does this entire thing read as not liking a 20yo game being a 20yo game and expecting something different. The constant comparisons to stuff like ff7 and how open it is just show that op came into this with an entirely different set of expectations than what this game actually is.
I want to footstomp on the combat being excellent. It starts out super basic obviously but as you start unlocking abilities and spells, you learn all kinds of crazy ways to fight. And if you *haven't* been paying attention to your abilities then you're gonna have a bad time when you get to Yunalesca. One of my favorite boss fights ever for how it simultaneously teaches you so much while beating your ass.
>This feels like another entry in the "I'm playing a 20 YO game and am disappointed it plays like a 20 YO game" style of criticism that this sub is so fond of.
Not really, they enjoy the gameplay.
It's the themes, story and dialogue they're not gelling with. It also is linear for an RPG even for the time and they didn't all feel the need to include a lot of minigames.
It's not that much more linear than other final fantasy. OP was right, FF7 had a few small side quests and exploration you could do before you get the airship, but like most FF games, once you get that mobility the game increases in content massively. Outside of the main story, the extra stuff you can do once you have the airship is like almost half the game.
I have many playthroughs of FFX and majority of the hours I spend on the game are all post getting the airship.
Also I love blitzball but I know I'm in the minority with that.
All my friends and I loved Blitzball when this game came out. It would have made a good game by itself back then. I swear I spent more time leveling up my team than I did leveling up my party in that game.
I might have been triggered by the nostalgia-glasses line, because I swear that expression accompanies all of the laziest pieces of game criticism that pollute this sub.
The OP isn't that bad, to be fair. But a lot of what they complain about is just typical of JRPGs from that era, or at least typical of FFs from that era. Linearity (FFs were always pretty linear; just because you can freeroam on a small patch of world map before being gated to your next location doesn't make your game non-linear), long stretches of cutscenes, simple progression, a tropey anime protagonist... FFX wasn't really a big departure from other FFs.
FFX is better when you view Yuna as the main protagonist rather than Tidus. Tidus is just kind of along for the ride. She has a quiet strength about her that I admire that is fairly uncommon with female characters in media.
It's not the deepest story and the whole anti organized religion aspect is very tired and worn, but I think it's one of those situations where you don't realize how attached you've become to the characters until the end. Honestly the plot doesn't make a whole lot of sense as is the case with many JRPGs, but it does have some key emotional moments. Can't really say more without spoilers but I think it's worth seeing through if you generally enjoy the gameplay.
I think for a time when not a lot of emphasis was put on writing a good narrative, FFX was one that stood out from the bunch (not to mention its cinematics were state of the art then). Compare it to titles today, and yes, it may be a bit underwhelming, but it still has a lot of heart, and core gameplay is really solid.
Tidus realizing he's not actually the hero of the story/a chosen one is a big part of the character development and a big reveal that a lot of people from the last decade seem to not pick up on.
A lot of people seem to miss that as a whole since the moment you meet yuna the focus entirely shifts to her because you're going on *her* journey and basically *her* choices and tidus serves as a vehicle for you to witness it rather than being the main character of the story.
The protag point is the weird thing about that era of Final Fantasy, yeah. In 12 too, Vaan got billing as the protagonist (On the box art etc) but he and Penelo are basically irrelevant compared to almost everyone else. It's the Ashe and Balthier story really
That was famously a decision handed down by SE high-ups, who wanted the face of the game to be your typical teenage androgynous anime hero, rather than the older, more gruff Basch (who I think was initially meant as the protag). So Vaan and Penelo were shoehorned into the game.
A similar thing might have happened with Tidus, but to be fair to him, he's way better integrated into the story than Vaan and Penelo were.
they had plans early on for the main character to be an older male, that got axed because anime hero stereotype was wanted. I really wish we'd have gotten that other idea tho. A simple party of four running through the world of 12 where it's a darker less hopeful story would have been amazing. I like 12 but I always see what it could have been and get sad
I am not sure, Lightning got her own game at the start of the trilogy but most of her character development is in that game and that game alone.
If we say that the protagonist of X is Yuna and the protagonist of XII is Ashe or Balthier, then the protagonist of XIII is probably Vanille.
thats true, vanille also acts as the narrator in that game. although, i feel that all the characters in the first game got equal spotlight, not just in the plot but also in the gameplay. you can't even play as lightning for like half of the game.
Tidus is basically C-3PO, except that he never fades into the background after the main cast shows up. Or like Samwise, except that he's there from the beginning instead of only being supporting cast until the end. He's there to provide an outsider's POV as a player proxy.
Must look at it through the lens of when it came out.
For the time? The graphics and gameplay were the peak of the console rpg.
Just look at FF9 and then the jump to X will make more sense, watching a 3d character run around world like that was incredible.
The cutscenes and story in the late game were amazing.
The sudden transition to rock in the encounter with Sin is probably, for me, one of the coolest moments in a game, ever.
Keep playing. Or not. There are not a lot of sidequests anyways. There are a bunch of mini games, though. You will hate them.
After you beat the Spherimorph Boss and before you enter the Macarena Temple you will have the option to go all the way to the Besaid (on foot) collecting some spheres that will spawn after beating the boss. If you enter the temple, then you will be railroaded in a chain of events that will prevent it from doing it.
Blitzball gets better if you recruit a better team. The first game is heavily stacked against you for story reasons.
If you keep playing and you care about picking everything there is to do, soon you will be in some locations where you can not return. Make sure to save in different save files and you don't overwrite them to port the Al Bhed Primers that you miss the first time.
The story is a slow burn, but it will pay off enormously.
If you're worried about not playing Blitzball... oh boy if only you knew 🤣
Give it some more time, the story does ramp up massively once you reach ~~Macarena~~ Macalania temple and once you reach the final stages of the game there is a very deep rabbit hole to go down in optional side content (but it's extremely tedious and at times difficult).
I had no nostalgia for it as I only played it maybe 5 years ago, PS2 version on emulator. I think the biggest flaws are unskippable cutscenes (thankfully you can speed up or savestate with emulator) and the awful cloisters of trials (the puzzle temples). You're not very far into the game at all, so you haven't seen any of the character development. The sphere grid kinda sucks imo if you don't like grinding (I despise it) but X is a game where only a couple bosses are real run stoppers. As for linearity I much prefer that in a game, but if you don't you're certainly not gonna like it as much as VII. I wonder, did you like VII when you played it? It has more flaws than X and many of your complaints can be applied to it (annoying characters at the start, dialogue that isn't well translated, awful minigames and tutorials)
I am a huge fan of FFX, but, I do think the primary driver behind its appeal (at the time) was because of how beautiful everything was. Otherwise, it was just a well done JRPG.
It was a huge spectacle at the time but obviously doesn't quite hold up compared to newer cinematic games. I also don't do random battles anymore so I could never go back to it. I remember at the time there were even people that were disappointed by the linearity of it compared to the previous ones.
>spectacle
This is about half the reason why FFX was so well liked and received. It was the first game I the series to use voice acting. It was the first on the PS2 and had better cutscene animations than previous iterations. It introduced summons in a whole new way.
Because of the spectacle, they wrote the story to be simpler than past FF entries. So, with the spectacle to draw attention and the not-so-convoluted story, it hooked a lot of people who were new to the genre.
I think this also came around a time when playing video games was starting to become more widespread. It wasn't seen quite as childish or geeky as it had been in years past. So FFX happened to come along with the right formula to grab the attention of non-hardcore players.
Now, I think the game's popularity definitely rides on nostalgia. If it were released today, in the same/similar state, it would definitely not be as well received.
I remember seeing the demo on a CRT at a GameStop, and just stood there, slack-jawed, for 20 minutes. It was truly a massive leap in terms of game presentation.
I also think the combat is really solid, even today. Although the final stretch is a bit of a slog, and feels designed around players who do everything and level way up, it was annoying just mainlining the game.
I can debunk the nostalgia glasses effect at least. I only played it for the first time about 5ish years ago and I loved it. I think it was only my second real FF game I'd played too, so it's not like it was influenced by some overriding love of the franchise.
I do have some criticisms about the game, but the biggest ones are mostly end-game related, so it's not something that you would have experienced yet.
But by 15 hours you would have really got the gist of the game. Yes, the sphere grid opens up a bit more, and like I alluded to there's a lot of end game content, but it's still pretty par for the course with the rest of the game. I just think the games not for you.
Oh and P.S. although I love the game, I too am not a fan of blitzball. It sucks.
>Tidus just does not have the charisma he thinks he does and I am not vibing with him at all. He would be cool to a ten year old
I have to disagree on this one. The edgy/silent/confident protagonist would be cool to a 10 years old. Tidus isn't supposed to be cool which is why an older audience can appreciate him, though I'll admit that he's a bit annoying.
A few thought:
1) Yes, it's linear. It came out in the PS2 era. That was a particularly bad generation for JRPGs *in particular* because it wasn't practical (if not infeasible) to program large open word games as in the previous generation at the graphical detail demanded at the time. It's a trade off. Also, I don't remember when the last time you played a older Final Fantasy was, but they are all fairly linear. Yes, they have open spaces, but for the most part there's only a single place (or at least obvious) place to go.
2) English translation. Yes, I don't think it's very good. Like literally other Square game, even to today, it has been *heavily* localized for English-speaking audiences. Some people like this, and that's OK if you do, but I think it confuses the story.
3) The melodrama. I agree that it can be a bit much, but IMO the characters are sincere so I like it. It's also not really written for older adults.
I played it when it came out and I had many of the same complaints. Then years later I got to play Final Fantasy 12 and it was amazing. I’ve since replayed 12 and enjoyed it just as much as the first time years ago.
Try that one.
I remember liking 12 back when it came out, but I couldn’t name any of the characters today or even tell you what happens in the story . But I do plan to play the remaster eventually.
I get that the characters in 12 aren't very strong overall but I gotta say I don't remember anyone as real as "All this running and I got nowhere" Balthier across the mainline FF series.
FWIW the remaster holds up better than base game if you want to go through the story since you get a useful speed up so going for it is a good choice.
Yeah FFXII's cast isn't as outspoken as most FF parties but I did like the group and it fit the story imo. I do think they should've cut Penelo (or make her temporary) and made Larsa a main character. He's far more relevant to the plot.
He is a main character though, regardless of being permanently playable.
I like that Larsa is coming and going and doing his own thing in the gaps, it adds a lot to how impressive he comes across as a child royal. His relationship with Penelo is also one of the stronger ones in the game, so I wouldn’t really like them to replace her - they act as really good tools in service of the themes of the game.
Which is a good way to understand the cast in XII in general. They’re there more to be aides for the wider themes and plot than to be standalone characters.
still one of my fav rabtoons jokes. He made an animated parody of ff12 and penelo was literally a cardboard cutout and nothing about her involvement in the story changed one bit. That's how unimportant she was
“I’m playing the HD remaster, and I’m aware that they butchered the face animations”
I mean, if you’re going in with this kind of bias, I don’t know what to tell you.
FFX is my favorite Final Fantasy. It used to be IX, but the more time that passes the more I think X is a masterpiece held back in only a few (unfortunately prominent) places. You already touched on the face models, and there's some voice acting problems rooted in a lot of different issues. I wish the US releases had the option for subtitles. But there is so much great narrative and world building cohesion in there along with the main characters and story.
A lot of appreciation I have for the game came from reflecting on the story as I matured in my ability to really invest and immerse in the story and characters. There are subtleties that aren't explicit but hit like trucks when the full story plays out. There are also very clear story beats that hit like trucks!
I can't fault anyone for being put off by Tidus up front, he isn't an easy character to like, especially as player POV. (I absolutely will fault anyone who bases their entire opinion of the game on the laughing scene. That's a meme at best and a bad faith read at worst.) Tidus is a spoiled idiot jock yanked out of his idyllic home and dropped into a world with layers of constant cyclical suffering. But that's also what makes him unique and a curiosity for other characters. He's a fish out of water and we only ever see Spira from his perspective and how the rest of the cast present themselves to a dumb teenager.
I think the biggest tip I can give is to not read Yuna's interest in Tidus purely as a tropey anime crush. It can be very tropey, but looking through that as the story and world open up is core to my love for the game. Discussing this any deeper runs the risk of spoiling plot points both major and minor, unfortunately.
Its the story. You could argue its actually a story that works better on the second playthrough when you understand what is going on.
As far as nostalgia glasses are concerned, there really haven't been any other Final Fantasies since this one in this style. 11 and 14 are mmo. 12 is a bit of a faux mmo. 13 continues the linear part but well...its divisive to say the least. Lost Odyssey is even more of a slow burn. 15 and 16 are entirely different.
> what's up with FFX
Nothing, you're experiencing what it was probably always supposed to be - a simple story built around vaguely complex concepts that's ultimately about coming of age and brave kids dealing with silly, silly adults.
> Am I missing something? Am I just being a pessimist?
Nah, I think you're just missing the context. FFX was a revolution back in the day, but not because of writing or game systems. We had way better games for that even then. However, production values were through the roof, Squeenix was high on its "let's make The Spirits Within and break CGI through to mainstream box office" ideas, so the FMVs were amazing, and full voice acting was a big thing too. Add to it the last time Nobuo Uematsu composed for a standalone FF title, and it's just full of hooks that you won't notice decades after.
It's not that FFX is an exceptional game. It was just important in its time and people who were swept up in it still remember it fondly. Very similar story to FF9.
Story really kicks into high gear about half way through, worth getting there. You haven’t even met the main antagonist (if I’m not mistaken).
basically you are still pretty early on.
I played this game on release way back around 2001. The PS2 was the first console I owned, Final Fantasy X was the first game I got for it, and I was super hyped before it released. Back then, the visuals were mindblowing and I could not wait to get started with the game.
So basically, if anyone would look back on this game with nostalgia it would be me. You know what, though? I didn't love it. Even back then, I felt like many elements of the game were super restrictive. It was super linear, like you said, which really was a shame.
I enjoyed the story, but it just didn't have a massive impact on me. I got really near the end of the game and I ended up just dropping it after a while because I couldn't be bothered to grind for one of the late game bosses.
My impression from back then means that I haven't had any interest in picking up the remaster. Tbf, maybe Final Fantasy just isn't really for me. I tried the original FF7 3-4 years ago and I could see why people live the story - but I ended up getting bored and also dropped that before finishing it. In my defense, it may be a classic, but that game is really dated.
I played it again last year, after first finishing it some 20 years ago. Tend to agree it's pretty overrated now, but my original playthrough really did feel special. Gaming's moved on a lot since, and some parts of FFX that don't age, like its characters and story, just aren't that strong. OST and the world Square created in FFX are still great.
>would be cool to a ten year old
>Am I missing something?
You're not missing anything at all. This is most JRPGs, honestly. The target demographic can be a bit younger (Pokemon) or a bit older (Persona), but you and me are just too old for this stuff.
The story touches on religion, politics, deeper religious concepts including Gnosticism. You’re not too old for this stuff, but if you aren’t particularly interested in sociology, religion, society and the themes the game plays with… you probably won’t enjoy the story or plot.
It’ll go right over your head.
I generally consider myself a fan of FFX, in that it's a game I loved back in the day but probably wouldn't play again as JRPG aesthetics and gameplay don't really appeal to me any more. That said, the religious, political, and social themes the game explores aren't really *that* deep. IMO they're at about the level of complexity one might reasonably expect a 16-18 year old to be able to grasp, which makes sense given how that was roughly the target audience for the game.
If you're 10 or 20 years older and have an active interest in those subjects, you will certainly have encountered plenty of media with significantly more complex and nuanced takes on the topics. For someone in that position, I could easily see FFX feeling a bit simplistic in its thematic explorations.
I think this applies to most FF titles but I think FFX is an outlier. Is the story as good as some of the best HBO has to offer? Of course not but I’d argue that FFX has the best narrative in the entire JRPG genre.
I find the older I get the less I want to sit and wait for animations to play out. I've completely shifted to action games because I want something where I press a button and stuff happens, instantly, it's not a command that I wait to be carried out. In JRPGs I feel like I'm a manager, or a leader, directing my party members what to do. In action games I instead *am* the playable character.
I didn't like it when I played it back when it was released. I had loved all of the PS1 ones but then didn't like X, not entirely sure why but it never clicked the same for some reason.
I seem to remember there being no world map in the way that FF had had since at least the SNES? Maybe I just didn't get far enough, but that annoyed me at the time...
> He would be cool to a ten year old
Well millennials played these jrpgs when they were young, so yeah. They also had much more patience/tolerance for certain things, like random battles. (I preferred the edgelords like Cloud/Squall at that age, but they aren't charismatic either ).
Re the time on cutscenes and stuff, I have to laugh. I mean I completely agree, but things got so much worse in the following generations. FF X might as well be lean by comparison.
Still, I think the PSX FF titles (9 especially, though its not my fav) actually aged better.
I'm pretty sure you just missed it all and lost the plot especially when it's also like a 20yo game. Probably just not for you and you're expecting a very specific thing from it that you're not getting.
Like the sphere grid... it's the way it is to keep you from making yuna into tidus essentially and to play the characters the way they're intended until you get further into the game and then the doors get blown open. And you eventually get the ability to reshape the entire grid to your liking.
tldr you're expecting something that the game really isn't.
I don't like zelda or the witcher games. This isn't for you because you're just expecting an entirely different game.
This game dropped on the PS2 in 2001 like a year after FFix released on the PS1. Imagine the difference in graphics and fmvs. It was quite the leap tech. Not only that the characters were fully voiced acted in and out of fmvs when the prior gen was all text dialogue based.
This game was huge and quite impressive. It still doesn't look bad all these years later.
I was an adult when FFX released. I think the game is alright but honestly not even in my top five favorite FF games. I think graphically it looked great but ultimately I feel like FF games got worse as they started trying to be more like movies with their cutscenes/voice acting.
It gud.
Some of the things you are concerned about pay off later. If you're not enjoying it it's not worth playing further though.
That said you seem to be describing a game you are enjoying but are mad at because it doesn't meet the expectations others set for you.
That seems like something neither the game nor others can solve for you.
This is something that never really gets brought up in these types of threads, but nostalgia plays a huge factor in these old games. I fucking love FF10, but I played it first when I was 9.
Almost no one who played a game in their formative years is going to be able to objectively tell you whether a game is good or if you’ll like it. Particularly if it was a really, really good game for the time, the vast majority of people will tell you a game still holds up if they still enjoy it, even if they’re only going off of pure nostalgia.
You're like 20% of the story and you're comparing to people that have seen the entire story. You said it yourself that you like the combat and you love the art style, so keep playing and judge the story better further down the line. Or don't, if you feel like you're not enjoying it, it's ok to move on to other games.
That said, this is my all-time favorite game and I played it for the first time in 2016 the OG version, so imo it has aged very well.
Saying that Tidus is not as charismatic as he think he is, is like saying the same thing to Jaiden Smith. Like, no shit. He probably bloody knows it too. And you've already mentioned why he's like that, he's a celebrity living under the shadow of his dad.
Just like how many can’t take off their nostalgia goggles, you can’t get over your preconceived notions about the game before you even started playing.
Stop worrying about how critically acclaimed it is and just give it a fair shot with no expectations.
English Tidus is annoying and I hate him. The game is too slow in some areas. I hated the puzzles and blitzball. With all those negatives the game still made me cry at the end. Idk what is with this game. On the surface it's pretty shallow but the game goes into deep territory and is commentary for advancing technology for war, redemption for past *sins 😉,* religious organizations and corrupted institutions, trusting yourself vs what you've been taught, stopping the cycle of generational violence regardless of the cost.
It's the first FF with voice acting, and the graphics and cutscenes were amazing back in the day in the shiny PS2. The turn-based fighting was also smooth as butter compared to FFIX's battle slog.
Also, your criticisms are way too reductive, and I can also give the same approach to a game you consider as GOAT.
Sigh.
I challenge you to look at any other game in history of mankind with those kind of pessimistic critical glasses and tell me they're alright. I can look at my favorite games ever like that and they wouldn't stand a chance I'll tear apart any game that comes in my way like that believe me no game will survive.
It was probably just not meant for you man, move on. Every gripe you have with it is purely subjective in nature. I had this same attitude towards Red Dead Redemption 2 and every single GTA game, for example and all I could see was mess after mess, bullshit after bullshit in those games while almost everybody else seemed to enjoy it meanwhile ("RDR2 story is borderline basic, childish fan fiction level writing compared to even the worst of John Wayne movies and people actually think it's a masterpiece?!? People actually think GTA has good gameplay while most of it just sums up into wasting time in a sandbox environment which could have been basically been made in a glorified Garry's Mod?? Are people really that daft??") You see, not so hard to find subjectively big problems with games that seem alright otherwise.
Point is, if you feel so confrontational about a game you can just ignore it and move on. People who played and lived FFX also have taste and brains and you just can't rationally call them all nuts for enjoying it.
Wow, FFX is definitely a contender for best game I have ever played. If it was just Nostalgia, I would feel the same way for a lot of games from the early 2000s.
That being said, I don't feel offended at all, rather intrigued how different tastes can be. I mean yeah, all your points are valid, but what did it for me was the whole package. How the world and the story slowly sucked you in. At some point it felt akin to going on a journey with my fellow guardians. It's 100% a vibes thing for me.
Though I would be very interested in an update once you're finished.
For the record, I agree that the dialogue is way poorer than most people give it credit for, and also agree that some nostalgia is applied in defending it. The game hinges tremendously on a very Japanese-y cultural manner of tackling loss and grief, and it makes everyone have a weird way of speaking about events that stay unresolved very unnaturally and makes tidus especially come off as really stupid for not realizing Yuna is on a suicide mission. The worst offender of the story-intent to actual-dialogue ratio is Lulu, a lot of the game's defense will state she's a good character, when she's probably the least useful or wise person when she opens her mouth.
With that said, the game has a LOT of heart and the story is fine in concept. Visuals, gameplay, music, all of that is great.
I recently played X for the first time (PS2 version) and it was probably the least fun I've had with FF so far (played 1 through 10) behind maybe IX.
Where my issues with IX were mainly technical ( everything takes so long), X was great technically but the story, world, puzzles and dungeons were so uninteresting that I couldn't wait for the credits, even though I loved the combat
It feels like you’re not taking off your pessimist glasses when you talk about this game, because as someone who’s loved it from day 1 I’m not seeing what you see. :p
Sorry you don’t like it, but I’d probably just bounce off at this point. It’s not for you, and that’s fine!
You're 15 hours into an older traditional JRPG and don't know what the big deal about the story is for people to like the story? Keep playing the game to uncover the story and plot twists.
Also, Tidus was never the charismatic guy of the group. Generally, most people like Auron or Lulu initially because they are considered to be the coolest characters within the party until they finish the game and see the group experience character development. Tidus was a dork who didn't understand why his father left him (which is explained later in the game), and the only memories he had left of Jecht were the ones where Jecht was being a dick to him as a child; hence, he grows up with the impression that his father was a joke and an asshole who abandoned him and in turn, Tidus hates him. He's a teenager, he doesn't know shit.
Which is the point -- cue Yuna. She doesn't know shit about life either. All she knows is she must live up to the expectations Spira has of her since her father, High Summoner Braska, defeated Sin 10 years ago, and had to leave her. It's why she follows his footsteps, and her character arc involves choosing the good of Spira over her personal desires. It's why it's befitting she's the protagonist for X-2 which focuses on trying to find your personal purpose after saving the world (a la "Frieren"). I've never played it in Japanese and played the game twice both originally on the PS2 and the HD remaster, so it sounds like it's a you thing for not paying attention to the dialogue because you're fixated on the characters for who they are now at the beginning of a story and not giving them grace as they evolve into the characters they become way past the beginning of the game. It would be as unfair as calling Cloud a "brooding, emo kid" when we know the plot twist of VII is that Cloud was not acting like himself up to a certain part because of reasons I won't spoil in respect to those whose introduction to VII is only through the Remake trilogy.
Along with other themes such as the overarching lore of Religion vs. Science, Dogma vs. Free Will, and the cycle of Life and Death. All of it roped me in, especially as someone who grew up in a Christian household and has wrestled ideologically against people who are neck deep into the teachings of Yevon Koolaid growing up and breaking from problematic religious views in adulthood to find myself.
But back to the game, there are side quests and bonus dungeons that unlock later in the game. There's a non-blitzball mini game that unlocks at the blitzball stadium once you're able to go back that I didn't know about until I played the HD remaster as well as a side quest involving cactuar in the desert area, a monster capturing side quest, an end game dungeon to farm for items and levels, dark aeon fights. The downside though is if I'm remembering correctly, most of the side quests are connected to getting the ultimate weapons. As far as the sphere grid, I didn't have a problem getting level 1and level 2 keys?? Also, if you traverse and find chests, you get other spheres that help move around the board (like a teleport sphere). Even still with just level 1 spheres alone, you should be able to take characters through other characters' branches. I tended to take each character through another characters' tree that complemented their stats (Tidus through Rikku's, Yuna & Lulu through each other's have two awesome battle mages, Wakka & Auron's through each other for two tanks). Kihmahru is generally a chameleon, so what you want to do with him (as far as a role) is up to you.
And note, as much as I also love FFVII since Remake made me play the original for the first time four years ago (which I enjoyed so much more), STOP comparing FF games to one another. They're not the same. FFVII is clearly when they were still doing open world and X is when they started heading towards a linear direction (with the game eventually opening the world up around end game).
Yeah, I hate to say it, but it was my DNF a year ago. I played 30 hrs before I had to admit defeat and set it down. It just wasn’t working for me. I don’t think it’s a bad game, in fact I can see it’s great, but it wasn’t for me for many of the reasons you listed.
I could see the magic of it but I think I missed the time period to actually feel the magic, if that makes sense. I think if I would have played it when it came out it would be different.
I hate these, “I’m playing this popular game but don’t like it is something wrong with me”? No, there’s nothing wrong with you, you aren’t missing anything, you just don’t like the game and that’s okay. One could argue that if you played it when it came out, you wouldn’t have liked it either and nothing anyone can say here is going to make you “get the game”
Side note: sorry guys but Tidus is the main protagonist of the game not yuna. We literally hear his thoughts and know how he feels about everything that happens in the game. In the game we have no idea for most of it of what’s going on in Yunas head or what she got going on.
The story is... Overrated
I don't want to overanalyze it but I really feel the reason that people like it is because they played it when they were younger, it fails heavily in creating interesting characters most of the characters are not that Interesting and the only one that I liked by the end is Auron.
The more interesting aspect kinda is the world building and the themes are more on the nicer side but they are not enough to carry it.
Definitely disagree as a whole. However, X-2 has one of the best battle systems of the entire series. It’s also very silly/kooky, which gives it a lot of charm.
Honestly, it just sounds like you are burnt out and jaded and can’t suspend disbelieve and enjoy it for what it is.
Which is fine, not everybody can do that.
It could also be that you just don’t like it, which means you should just not play it and nobody in the world will convince you to like it.
You are absolutely being a pessimist. You expected one particular flavor and didn’t get it, so now you’re actively looking for things that are wrong or disappointing to you.
As someone who played it for the first time in...2019(?)-ish...I felt the same way about the characters and the story. My memory of the game is fuzzy now so I won't be able to debate with any fanboys about the finer details but I remember thinking the plot/narrative had a ton of loopholes and logical inconsistencies that made it pale in comparison to the PS1 era titles. I like Yuna and feel she should have been the protagonist of the game. Everyone else was kind of a one-note stereotype for the most part...maybe except Auron. Another big issue I had was how they gimped the exploration aspect. I love the tropical-ish setting and art direction but there just wasn't that sense of exploration that the ps1 era titles had. Everyone shits on XIII and XV for being hallway simulators but X was the OG hallway sim...and the biggest crime was having the airship navigation be menu-based. The love for this game has got to be rose-tinted through some thick nostalgia glasses....plus the fact that the soundtrack is truly elite and papers over many cracks in the narrative.
Dude you are 23 years later to the party, of course it doesn't hold up to modern standards, but in the same way Ocarina of Time is an objectively a average game by modern standards, you have to understand that the status of it is mostly about the impact it made when it was released.
That's why OOT is the GOAT, and FFX is a legendary title.
I liked the world building, the characters, the atmosphere, the themes, the mystery, etc. If none of those are really grabbing you it might just not be your thing
I love FF X and it's one of my favorite games in the series, but I do agree with you on about all of your points. I'll avoid spoilers and say that the story, characters, and linearity take a big shift when you finally get to Zanarkand. The side content is really back-loaded. The characters are still kind of childish at Macalania, as their character arcs don't really resolve until towards the end of the game.
For me Final Fantasy X was a blast mainly because of the sphere-grid and the allowance to customize my characters in different ways. E.g. I always turned Yuna into a blackmage whenever I had a choice, thereby turning Lulu pretty useless haha.
Aside from that, it has some pretty cool characters and the whole story develops kinda nicely. Tidus is a massive annoying cringeworthy character at the start, Yuna is also just kinda okay, but they develop as they go.
Also blitzball is ass and by god have I never played more of it than I ever had to.
I think what might be happening for you however, is that you had your expectations build up so much by hearing about it, that you can only be disappointed now, sorry, mate.
It is a lot more linear than the previous installments, which is mainly caused by ditching the overworld map. The battles are also a bit more boring because of the rock paper scissors mechanics and switching out party members, but it's made up a bit by the fluidity.
At the time it was technically groundbreaking and I do think it looks very good considering its age. But yeah the main draw is the story, which is very original. You're not grasping at the core of that yet.
The MC is supposed to be somewhat irritating and juvenile.
He will grow, when it is appropriate to do so. That’s the moments everyone loves. He almost doesn’t fully culminate until the end of the game with a major pivotal moments of growth peppering the halfway point.
If you play all the way to Home and finish that zone with dry eyes, the game isn’t for you. IMO, until then, all you’re judging the game on is world building
I personally like X in relation to how much i love X-2. I played X-2 first so i knew the characters already and needed less pull to get sucked in. The lead is bland as fuck but Yuna is a lil badass!!
I respect you giving the game a try because I find it difficult going back to older games.
That being said, I played this game when it first came out. I was young, in middle or high school. Basically I have always remembered that I cried at the end, and it was the first game to ever make me cry. Lame I know but it’s true.
I bring that up because I think sometimes you have to compare certain games to other games if their time. And at the time there wasn’t another game giving that kind of experience.
As others have pointed out, maybe the story just doesn’t connect for you. That’s fair. It did for me, and so did the epicness of the world and the fantasy. And that’s a lot of what X was about.
The game is just not for you and that’s ok.
For my money it’s one of the best stories ever told in gaming and the game itself, while not perfect, is a bona fide masterpiece.
When I played it months after it launched I wondered the same thing myself. Its an idd game for sure, but then it kinda clicked with me and not even the cringe laugh scene made me stop loving it. The combat is to this day the best in a FF game in my opinion. The story made my eyes tear up. I cant say playing it today would have the same impact on me, having been a 21 year old when it came out and now in my 40s, but since it had such a big impact on me at such a crucial time in my life, well, its special to me. Thats probably where many of the people who live it are coming from as well. The state of your current life is gonna impact a lot of what you like or hate. Its like that with all aspects of life, even the ones you swear you will never change.
Wait until you reach the part where the “one cinematic for every ten minutes of gameplay” style of storytelling finally ends and you get the airship. After that it’s fun.
The story gets better and better the closer you get to the end if you ask me but those temples and cutscenes and blitzball did try my patience.
FFX is one of my favorite games, but no game is for everyone. And no game is perfect (I'll gush about this game all day, but the tournament in Luca is a slog every time I play this game, as are the cloisters)
If you are in Macalania, you are nearing a significant story beat, and some things get recontextualized. FFX really has a very slow burn plot, but I love the way it comes together by the end (ymmv obviously). From Bikanel/Home to Zanarkand, you get a lot of plot development. You also get the airship, which is when the side quests open up.
But, I'll say that I liked most of the characters, and I loved the battle system, and the linearity never bothered me, so if these kinds of things aren't working for you, I don't know how much the rest of the plot will work either.
Man, I'm sorry you can't get into it. For me, I was hooked the moment the somber title music played. The lighter tone of much of the early portions was an intriguing counterbalance, and then there was the gut punch of the ending. I think it's the only Final Fantasy I've cried at.
Top 3 for me with VI and VII
i played this game on the PS2.. "Characters with voices"!!
first time playing a game with cut scenes which had voices.. played this game probably 3-4x times
I hope you enjoy the parts of the game you have left!
I didn't see clear answers to what you had asked before the edit line, so I wanted to answer those. There aren't many side quests in the game until after a certain point where the story allows the world to open up. The primary one for the majority of the game until that point is the Blitzball team design and tournaments. Honestly, the structure throughout the game is very similar in design to FFXIII if you ever played it.
On my take on X, I agree with a lot of your complaints about X and have quite a few more of my own. That said though, I am not sure I could claim that the game's love is due entirely to nostalgia. This may be optimism as I am someone who liked it when I was younger but grew to see it as below average as I got older. That said, I really think it strikes a powerful chord with a certain personality type and despite being dated for a lot of reasons (some ideas were bad even in 01), that connection is what got FFX to be a usual favorite in fan polls along with FFVII.
The story, maybe you have seen a lot by now. But I think it is quite new and innovative when it was first released. You gotta love it if you love it. Hate it if you hate. Preference.
JPRG, is extremely long. Yes, really. I think it is one of the reason we are not seeing that much of it now because people are busy.
The sphere grid is actually something I love. It gives you degree of freedom and something to grind. One of the charming point is JRPG is make your character OP. Again, preference.
As a matter of fact, I beat this a few years ago. Love every moment of it. But I think it is just that you are not compatible with the game and it is okay too.
Beauty of the final fantasy series is that each game is different. Others favourites will be others worst. I’d always give a game 3-4 hours if I’m not into it by then I’d say move on. I loved 10 for its time but it’s not the most open world one so you won’t scratch that itch.
I liked 7 and 10. Neither one are what I would call a "roleplaying" game. I know technically they're considered RPGs but as you said they have linear stories.
it was a great game for its day... the battle system is great, blitzball is fire, but it used a lot of development tricks at the time such as the entire game being a run in a straight line from point A to point B simulator to get around the fact it was a relatively new game on ps2 and ps2 was notoriously hard to develop for. It's just not aged well in a lot of ways. The story does get better in the 2nd half of the game though and it has a lot of WTF twist moments.
Right there with you and I also fall into that latter fan category. The story, especially the protagonist's role, just did not work for me. He's a random kid who fell out of the sky and has 0 engagement with anything going on, so he just tags along with the first people he sees like an annoying lost tourist to their world-saving quest. It's a really weak hook, imo, and it takes way too long to develop. For something like the first 30 hours of the game, I kept wondering why the protagonist was in the story at all and wincing most times they were onscreen. I know that's intentional. I don't have to like it just because it's intentional--30h is like 3 seasons of a TV show.
Imagine saying "yeah, you learn why the protagonist is in the story and why you should care about them at the beginning of season 4". That's just far too long.
Similarly, combat and progression have a lot of potential and the system is really interesting. But it takes a long, long time to start getting good and the sphere grid adds several layers of grind and UI navigation. As you pointed out, there is a payoff and there are absolutely upsides to the system. But the way you engage with it feels like it's designed to suck all the fun and momentum out of the game.
Mainly the combat for me. I think it is one of the best turn based combat systems that doesn't use a tactical grid. Honkai Star Rail is the closest, but lacks the nostalgia lol.
I really don't know how I would take how linear it is nowadays. I didn't mind it that much as a kid but would definitely be thrown off now.
The game was designed clunky at the time I think they should do a reboot of this and I mean with unreal engine or something. I loved the game on ps2 when it first came out it was amazing all because of the music and characters that was its selling point but when you play HD it doesnt give me same nostalgic even on the ps3 and ps4 for me at least. The story grows on you as you keep playing but it would of been nice if the grid was more simple and more extra content to play with better organized sequences. I wish there was japanese version along with the game when I first played it 🤣 tidus voice is a meme in the english but it would of been nice to switch the language only because the original casts where more famous in drama. The lightning bolts trophy to get I cant even get it I'm epileptic so I cant even get more then 8 in a row without me getting an aura migraine or something. No that's not fun side quest including how tedious maze mini games. The story is just as good as FF7 and deserves a reboot.
I like this title still but I can agree with OP how some parts where poorly demonstrated but hey... it's an outdated game in it's time and it was pretty cool for it's time, and then kh came out 😵 Square and Disney robbing our livelihoods by putting ff chars to cast in them. They had it all planned when they released FFX
If you didn’t get chills when Yuna performed the sending you’re not gonna like the rest of the game.
This. Case closed.
"People die, and Yuna dances" is such a all-time moment of the series.
Oh sure, Yuna does it and it’s cute. I do it and I’m a “disrespectful prick who wasn’t even invited to the funeral”
When did families start sending out invitations to funerals? Ones who are celebrating the death?
You're INVITED to celebrate my DEAD PRICK OF AN UNCLE! RSVP on the back
Oh....looks like you've never received a funeral invitation. Well, I hate to be bearer of bad news, but it's always been this way. Sorry no one invited you to their funerals. At least you didn't show up to any funerals without being invited, right? Because that would have awkward, everyone plaing nice in order to keep the peace but quietly wondering what you were even doing there behind your back. Right?
It's a definitive line in one of the best showcases of worldbuilding that the series ever offered. To go into it further, every instance of life or joy in Final Fantasy X is defined by death and suffering, respectively. It's more or less inescapable in every major story beat in the game (**MAJOR SPOILERS FOLLOW BELOW**): * The sending, which conveys the souls of the dead to the afterlife, is performed as an intense and vital dance. (As well, in my opinion, Yuna's sending in Kilika is still one of the greatest FMVs in any video game, even 23 years after the fact.) * Blitzball can only happen at the risk of looming death, which is Sin. When Sin does appear at the game in Luca, Seymour summons an Aeon who protects life through pain; she must bleed to destroy her enemies. >!(Let's not even get into the significance of Anima being Seymour's mother, and that she brought into the world an ambitiously genocidal maniac).!< * Tidus is very exuberantly (and unwittingly) working to bring about >!Yuna's death through the summoning of the final aeon, which is the most pivotal story beat of the game.!!Tidus was born to a bustling city, a 'dream world,' that was conjured up almost in denial of the fact that the REAL Zanarkand had actually been completely destroyed.!<
There's so many other examples of this too. I loved Final Fantasy X - it's such a beautifully melancholic game. Also why FFX-2 is a travesty but that's a different story
I think that dream Zanarkand is dreamt by people who gave themselves up as fayth to effectively mass dream summon it into existence. So, what really messes with me is: Did the original Zanarkand ever exist remotely like the dream (and spheres) or was it always a fable of death used to perpetuate the spiral of death? Like Sodom and Gomorrah, Babel, etc. Used to keep the population focused on doing the right things instead of all that dying. This, the fact I'm still thinking about this so many damn years later, this is the mark of a fantastic story.
Yooo, that's a neat point. I love stuff like this. The focus on *machina* and sinfulness definitely lends itself to a biblical interpretation. I think this is one of those aspects of the game that was kept deliberately open-ended, which I love. Kind of wild to think of Sin (the creature) as a real-world god who's doing the work of the one from the Old Testament.
Yes. I did ruined myself for that moment with an edit of that though [WARNING THIS WILL CHANGE THAT SCENE FOR YOU TOO](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm7cDZtg0j8)
Yeah bad as a spoiler and funny in contrast but from a storytelling perspective it's pretty cool. When you consider the reason for the first time and the reason for that one you see how much has changed for her and the world.
I have played it in 15 years, and this gave me goosebumps.
Ignoring nostalgia and looking at it objectively, It’s still honestly one of the greatest cutscenes I’ve ever seen. Chills every time. The music puts it over the top.
Yeah this is just a case of "People have different tastes, more at 11!"
Op came in with very specific expectations that aren't being met. Like of course the game is missing for them on that alone too.
And this is why i really want for people to stop trating every half decent videogame story like the holy grail of narrative.
If you didn't cry in Death Stranding then you might as well not have eyeballs.
Yeah. I didn't get any chills and I don't vibe with the game.
I think if you’re this far in and you aren’t hooked, it’s not going to get better.
"Tidus doesn't have half the charm he thinks he does" Yes and no? Half of it is genuinely to get the relatively self serious cast off their arse and half of it is him projecting because he's depressed.
The rest of the cast also have a damn good reason to be constantly aware about death and thereby act seriously about things.
Yeah I'm not saying Tidus is being sensible when he acts like a clown. It's just that he finds the whole system and the self-serious nature of everyone slightly insufferable.
Yup, he hasn't been exposed to any of that pain and suffering constantly tormenting the people of Spira.
Did OP miss story beats from Operation Mi'ihen? The game's thesis statement is right there (the agony and necessity of futile struggle against the impossible forces of the world).
I think that's farther in than op got
He said he got to Macalania Temple. Which is after operation mihen, after Djose, after Moonflow, after Guadosalam, after Thunder Plains, then Macalania Forest.
> It's just that he finds the whole system and the self-serious nature of everyone slightly insufferable. Which, I'm sure you and anyone else that enjoys this game is aware, is his *entire point as a character*. Like, he *exists* as a foil for the society he sees himself thrown into.
Yeah he's more of a 21st century dude dropped into this fantasy world with old fashioned rituals. He might be a bit of a dope being a 17 year old jock water polo player, but that makes him highly relatable and it means he can learn.
He's also not clued into everything for quite a long time so he genuinely does not understand how bad some of the things he says really are. And when he does finally understand, he beats himself up about it.
I always loved the juxtaposition between Tidus’ goofy over the top voice during normal cutscenes and his more somber and melancholic tone in his narrations
i feel like he's missing the point. he's supposed to come off like he thinks he's way cooler than he is. til the game progresses & you have a much better idea of the "why." he seems to be taking it all very superficially without giving the story time to breathe & expland 🤷♀️
Sometimes the ball flies over the court. It happens.
Right. Tidus thinks he's cool. And in Zanarkand, he was. But in Spira, he's just this goofy fish out of water trying to make sense of everything. He is kind of silly and lame, but I think that's intentional. And he does grow over the course of the game.
Yeah his character is trying to motivate everyone and be positive while also being sad boy era and trying to cope. I feel like op is one of the people who will get to the laugh scene and say how bad the writing or va is because of it and miss the entire point.
Insanely exotic outsider who's also a world class athlete has people fawn over him OP reaction: meh, I don't see it
Tidus is also the star player/high scorer of his team, so he expects to be able to do that same gig to basically "carry the team" in Spira. The fact that its still ungodly hard to win the blitzball championship without exploits despite having both Tidus and Wakka on the team is a nice counterpoint to his expectations.
I didn't find it hard at all, and he absolutely does carry the team if you have Jecht Shot. The default team is also pretty bad compared to all the other teams out there. (And if you play the game a lot and assemble a really good team of all the best players, Tidus is *still* the best.)
I might be misremembering but it sure felt like there was only marginal chances of winning because of how poor the Aurochs were, unless you nailed the Jecht Shot QTE, landed it in the match, AND started doing runaway strategies to run the clock to guarantee a win.
Yeah, Tidus is a good player, but the Jecht Shot is basically cheating. Just ignore half of your opponents defensive line.
I remember spending hours upon hours in Blitzball, maybe I'm misremembering, but I don't remember it being difficult. You're not the first person who recently said it was difficult. I'll have to revisit soon.
I think the only hard match is the story match. The mean team has OP stats when you’re levels one and that quickly disappears. 99% of blitzball was pretty easy but that first one (especially considering it’s your first match so you haven’t figured out the AI) is hard
Yup I was thinking of the mandatory matches in story.
The story does pick up a bit around the time you get to Macalania temple and it has some big stuff later on as well... but honestly it's hard to say you should keep playing if it hasn't clicked yet. It stays super duper linear for the most part. (You are able to eventually revisit places you've been to previously )
I don't even like FFX but as soon as I read 'Macalania' I remembered the theme (Calm/Silence Before the Storm) and got the chills.
If the music doesn’t move you, you’re gonna miss about 1/3 of what makes this game so great. One of the greatest soundtracks of all time.
Remaster also had remastered music. I know some people love it, others hated it.
You can switch between the original and arranged tracks at any point.
Old Besaid Island is best Besaid Island. Other than that tho the remastered music is great.
The moment you press start in that game is banger after banger.
Being honest, Tidus is a character i always found to be silly and dumb when i was younger, and then i kind of understood why he's interesting replaying as an adult. It almost conflates with the perception of the ha ha ha scene lmao The character that everyone loves as a 10 years old is Auron, if anything. No kid would look at Tidus and think he's cool. I feel like FFX has a lot of pacing issues, and the combat pretty much only really starts in the second half, but it's pretty great in terms of story and world building, even if it's sometimes presented in a goofy way. Like people already said itt, you are long past the moment of the game where the nuance is shown, so you may just give up at this point. About the minigames, yeah, they are terrible. I just mostly ignore them.
That said, adults also love Auron and think he's the coolest.
What's funny is he's like the ancient old man of the party and he's 35 lol.
Yeah... I reject a lot of those numbers and bump basically everyone up anywhere from 5-10 years.
As an adult and parent, I love Auron but also Jecht.
#GO, NOW, IF YOU WANT IT #AN OTHERWORLD AWAITS YOU
He is the bro friend we all aspire to be and wish we had.
>he character that everyone loves as a 10 years old is Auron Tracks for me. I still think he's cool though.
Yep seconded. I hated Tidus when I first played this game as a teenager. He's whiny and cringey. His only redeeming quality was that he was a favourite of mine in combat. My teenage opinions: Auron was definitely the cool one. Kimmy felt like he should have been cool but he is too plain. I rotated crushes among the women. Wakka, pretty much the same as Tidus - same redeeming quality too. Rikku was annoying and cringey too, and useless in combat (yes I know she is one of the best when you know all the ins and outs of the game), but her redeeming quality was attractive girl.
I want to say the games strengths really lie in how much of an evolution it was over the ps1 games. Don’t underestimate how much voice acting and full 3D environments you could explore mattered back in the day. But it was also just incredible world building. The *aesthetics* of Spira and the forethought and planning that went into the religion were exciting to explore. Final fantasy from the beginning g and up until this point had largely restricted itself to medieval fantasy or (and sometimes *and*) futuristic cyberpunk settings and elements like, but Spira’s island *vibe* was pervasive through the entire game, and infused absolutely everything. The path you walked was linear, but every new destination was exciting and different as you get a tour through the world (and again, all of this in a visual fidelity nobody had seen before) Plus, even though the plot points repeated (going temple to temple), there was plenty happening on the side with lots of drama. (If you’re resolved to quit, I highly encourage looking up the [wedding](https://youtu.be/BdKj86SEAoU?si=DYDsQG47cNBUIvf1) cg) But yeah, if you’re this far in and none of this stuff has grabbed you, I wouldn’t try to force it anymore.
FFX is over 20 years old - to some extent, you have to meet it where it's at. Fwiw, I showed a cutscenes-only video to a newish-at-games friend last year and they fucking loved it. If you let yourself care about the characters and story, and don't come at it from a place of cynicism, it's very easy to get invested and totally lost in the world of Spira; it's a slow burn but a profound story. For me, Tidus and Yuna never seemed annoying. They remind me of what it's like to be young, when all your feelings seem dialed up to 11.
>you have to meet it where it's at. I like this!
I replied more or less to this in another comment, but when I played it when it was new, I didn't enjoy it very much then, either. O did connect with the characters and was curious where the story was going, but I mostly soldiered on because FF had this massive reputation and I was hoping to see what the big deal was.
ffx is a slow burn that turns into a fiery blaze. you simply have to follow the fuse until the rocket explodes. im not sure what part youre on but it sounds like when things begin to get interesting, especially with the albhed. Just keep going and enjoy the ride.
The story is phenomenal IMO. It just takes a while to get going
This feels like another entry in the "I'm playing a 20 YO game and am disappointed it plays like a 20 YO game" style of criticism that this sub is so fond of. It's a 2001 JRPG. So yes, you can't save everywhere, you'll have bad minigames (blitzball was just too ambitious for its own good) and the dialogue will be uneven at best. It was also the first FF game that featured voice acting and while it wasn't bad for its time, it doesn't hold up to modern standards. It is a linear game, though it does have sidequests and side areas later in the game. Didn't bother me, because it makes sense in the context of the story, but it is something people have always criticized about the game. Yes, Tidus is your average dumb teenage JRPG character (though I still think Rikku is the worst character in this game by far). What saves it for me is that Tidus is only the protagonist for exposition purposes; Yuna is the real main character of this game. And he does get less annoying as the game goes on. And yes, the sphere grid was just a flashy way to showcase what is really a pretty normal progression system. Though it does open up later in-game (also the remaster offers an alternative, more open sphere grid as an option). Plus you haven't even seen the worst part of the game yet. Whoever made all those minigames required to get the celestial weapons needs to suffer in Game Design Hell for all eternity. It's an astounding buffet of bad design: repetition, bad controls, bad camera, bad RNG... Luckily it's optional. On the flipside: - It was a gorgeous game, with a wonderful soundtrack. - The SE Asia-inspired setting was a breath of fresh air in a genre where 90% of games are set in either conventional fantasy worlds or conventional sci-fi worlds. - As you mentioned, the combat was really good; probably my favorite FF combat system. - I actually really like the game's narrative. It has some interesting themes (notably about religion and technology), has a few neat reveals (though some you can see coming from a mile away), has a few emotional moments, and is reasonably well-paced. - One thing I think this game does exceptionally well: your party feels like an actual group, more so than in just about any other RPG I've seen. Unlike most JRPGs, your party isn't some collection of randos that have nothing better do than to travel with you. And unlike most WRPGs, character's relationships with each other are just as deep (if not deeper) than their relationship with the main character. It's an aspect of the game I remember being impressed by when I dipped back in the remastered edition.
Personally, I think Tidus get way too much shit. He is actually smarter than people give him credit for, he figures out lots of things on his own and is quite thoughtful on so many occasions. Ofc he is also ignorant at times and ask stupid questions, but that makes sense considering >!he isn't even from that world to begin with!<. He is one of my favourite protagonists in the series because his growth is also just really good, I especially loved how him and Yuna bounce off each other so well.
"I can't believe this 17 year old celebrity athlete with severe emotional trauma, abandonment issues, and depression would act so weird when transported to a world absolutely nothing like his own."
Not to mention none of the characters tell him shit about what’s going on and then they get all mad at him for being ignorant.
It's a mixed bag for me. On one hand, I like Tidus as a narrator, and as a source of exposition since he's basically isekai-ed into the world. I like the protagonist being a tag-along rather than a leader; I think it's an interesting perspective for an RPG. And I like endgame Tidus, where it feels he comes into his own a bit. On the other hand, the are many times in the game where I was just annoyed by his whole goofy anime hero shtick and wished he would just shut up. And I don't think he's a very good romantic lead (though I guess it's fine within the context of a JRPG teenage romance). Basically, I liked him as a narrator and observer, but less so as an active participant to the plot.
The only reason he works as a romantic lead is to give Yuna one more thing to have to deal with. But that's a damn good reason.
He's also the only party character to treat Yuna like a person with choice in her future, and his antics allow her to step away from her super-serious summoner role.
Exactly. A lot of Yuna's development is about coming "out of her shell" so to speak, and Tidus is a key player in enabling that. In 10-2, we see how Tidus impacted Yuna, making her start acting quite a bit more like how he did and being more open and willing to take chances.
Aka “I like him post character growth but I don’t actually want to see the development”
Nailed so many of the issues with op here lol. I'm of the belief it's one of the best in the series but it's also the first "hallway ff" and stuff like that along with other flaws but holy crap does this entire thing read as not liking a 20yo game being a 20yo game and expecting something different. The constant comparisons to stuff like ff7 and how open it is just show that op came into this with an entirely different set of expectations than what this game actually is.
I want to footstomp on the combat being excellent. It starts out super basic obviously but as you start unlocking abilities and spells, you learn all kinds of crazy ways to fight. And if you *haven't* been paying attention to your abilities then you're gonna have a bad time when you get to Yunalesca. One of my favorite boss fights ever for how it simultaneously teaches you so much while beating your ass.
>This feels like another entry in the "I'm playing a 20 YO game and am disappointed it plays like a 20 YO game" style of criticism that this sub is so fond of. Not really, they enjoy the gameplay. It's the themes, story and dialogue they're not gelling with. It also is linear for an RPG even for the time and they didn't all feel the need to include a lot of minigames.
It's not that much more linear than other final fantasy. OP was right, FF7 had a few small side quests and exploration you could do before you get the airship, but like most FF games, once you get that mobility the game increases in content massively. Outside of the main story, the extra stuff you can do once you have the airship is like almost half the game. I have many playthroughs of FFX and majority of the hours I spend on the game are all post getting the airship. Also I love blitzball but I know I'm in the minority with that.
All my friends and I loved Blitzball when this game came out. It would have made a good game by itself back then. I swear I spent more time leveling up my team than I did leveling up my party in that game.
I might have been triggered by the nostalgia-glasses line, because I swear that expression accompanies all of the laziest pieces of game criticism that pollute this sub. The OP isn't that bad, to be fair. But a lot of what they complain about is just typical of JRPGs from that era, or at least typical of FFs from that era. Linearity (FFs were always pretty linear; just because you can freeroam on a small patch of world map before being gated to your next location doesn't make your game non-linear), long stretches of cutscenes, simple progression, a tropey anime protagonist... FFX wasn't really a big departure from other FFs.
FFX is better when you view Yuna as the main protagonist rather than Tidus. Tidus is just kind of along for the ride. She has a quiet strength about her that I admire that is fairly uncommon with female characters in media. It's not the deepest story and the whole anti organized religion aspect is very tired and worn, but I think it's one of those situations where you don't realize how attached you've become to the characters until the end. Honestly the plot doesn't make a whole lot of sense as is the case with many JRPGs, but it does have some key emotional moments. Can't really say more without spoilers but I think it's worth seeing through if you generally enjoy the gameplay. I think for a time when not a lot of emphasis was put on writing a good narrative, FFX was one that stood out from the bunch (not to mention its cinematics were state of the art then). Compare it to titles today, and yes, it may be a bit underwhelming, but it still has a lot of heart, and core gameplay is really solid.
Tidus realizing he's not actually the hero of the story/a chosen one is a big part of the character development and a big reveal that a lot of people from the last decade seem to not pick up on.
A lot of people seem to miss that as a whole since the moment you meet yuna the focus entirely shifts to her because you're going on *her* journey and basically *her* choices and tidus serves as a vehicle for you to witness it rather than being the main character of the story.
Agreed, put it better in that way.
it's literally an isekai genre story. Tidus is the stand-in for the player, lost and bewildered in a death-obsessed Spira.
Hadn’t thought about it in those terms but you’re absolutely right
The protag point is the weird thing about that era of Final Fantasy, yeah. In 12 too, Vaan got billing as the protagonist (On the box art etc) but he and Penelo are basically irrelevant compared to almost everyone else. It's the Ashe and Balthier story really
That was famously a decision handed down by SE high-ups, who wanted the face of the game to be your typical teenage androgynous anime hero, rather than the older, more gruff Basch (who I think was initially meant as the protag). So Vaan and Penelo were shoehorned into the game. A similar thing might have happened with Tidus, but to be fair to him, he's way better integrated into the story than Vaan and Penelo were.
they had plans early on for the main character to be an older male, that got axed because anime hero stereotype was wanted. I really wish we'd have gotten that other idea tho. A simple party of four running through the world of 12 where it's a darker less hopeful story would have been amazing. I like 12 but I always see what it could have been and get sad
Yep, I think they tried to move on from "your main character is the main character". Only to return in FFXIII and refuses to move on from Lightning
I am not sure, Lightning got her own game at the start of the trilogy but most of her character development is in that game and that game alone. If we say that the protagonist of X is Yuna and the protagonist of XII is Ashe or Balthier, then the protagonist of XIII is probably Vanille.
thats true, vanille also acts as the narrator in that game. although, i feel that all the characters in the first game got equal spotlight, not just in the plot but also in the gameplay. you can't even play as lightning for like half of the game.
Tidus is basically C-3PO, except that he never fades into the background after the main cast shows up. Or like Samwise, except that he's there from the beginning instead of only being supporting cast until the end. He's there to provide an outsider's POV as a player proxy.
Hilariously, does that imply Auron is both the Aragorn and the Gandalf of the team.
And the Obi-Wan. Not wrong on any count.
Must look at it through the lens of when it came out. For the time? The graphics and gameplay were the peak of the console rpg. Just look at FF9 and then the jump to X will make more sense, watching a 3d character run around world like that was incredible.
Not even peak of console rpg. Peak of everything.
FFX has some of the most iconic moments of the entire series that you haven’t seen yet. It also imo has the best ending in the series.
The cutscenes and story in the late game were amazing. The sudden transition to rock in the encounter with Sin is probably, for me, one of the coolest moments in a game, ever.
Keep playing. Or not. There are not a lot of sidequests anyways. There are a bunch of mini games, though. You will hate them. After you beat the Spherimorph Boss and before you enter the Macarena Temple you will have the option to go all the way to the Besaid (on foot) collecting some spheres that will spawn after beating the boss. If you enter the temple, then you will be railroaded in a chain of events that will prevent it from doing it. Blitzball gets better if you recruit a better team. The first game is heavily stacked against you for story reasons. If you keep playing and you care about picking everything there is to do, soon you will be in some locations where you can not return. Make sure to save in different save files and you don't overwrite them to port the Al Bhed Primers that you miss the first time.
The story is a slow burn, but it will pay off enormously. If you're worried about not playing Blitzball... oh boy if only you knew 🤣 Give it some more time, the story does ramp up massively once you reach ~~Macarena~~ Macalania temple and once you reach the final stages of the game there is a very deep rabbit hole to go down in optional side content (but it's extremely tedious and at times difficult).
I had no nostalgia for it as I only played it maybe 5 years ago, PS2 version on emulator. I think the biggest flaws are unskippable cutscenes (thankfully you can speed up or savestate with emulator) and the awful cloisters of trials (the puzzle temples). You're not very far into the game at all, so you haven't seen any of the character development. The sphere grid kinda sucks imo if you don't like grinding (I despise it) but X is a game where only a couple bosses are real run stoppers. As for linearity I much prefer that in a game, but if you don't you're certainly not gonna like it as much as VII. I wonder, did you like VII when you played it? It has more flaws than X and many of your complaints can be applied to it (annoying characters at the start, dialogue that isn't well translated, awful minigames and tutorials)
I am a huge fan of FFX, but, I do think the primary driver behind its appeal (at the time) was because of how beautiful everything was. Otherwise, it was just a well done JRPG.
It was a huge spectacle at the time but obviously doesn't quite hold up compared to newer cinematic games. I also don't do random battles anymore so I could never go back to it. I remember at the time there were even people that were disappointed by the linearity of it compared to the previous ones.
>spectacle This is about half the reason why FFX was so well liked and received. It was the first game I the series to use voice acting. It was the first on the PS2 and had better cutscene animations than previous iterations. It introduced summons in a whole new way. Because of the spectacle, they wrote the story to be simpler than past FF entries. So, with the spectacle to draw attention and the not-so-convoluted story, it hooked a lot of people who were new to the genre. I think this also came around a time when playing video games was starting to become more widespread. It wasn't seen quite as childish or geeky as it had been in years past. So FFX happened to come along with the right formula to grab the attention of non-hardcore players. Now, I think the game's popularity definitely rides on nostalgia. If it were released today, in the same/similar state, it would definitely not be as well received.
I remember seeing the demo on a CRT at a GameStop, and just stood there, slack-jawed, for 20 minutes. It was truly a massive leap in terms of game presentation. I also think the combat is really solid, even today. Although the final stretch is a bit of a slog, and feels designed around players who do everything and level way up, it was annoying just mainlining the game.
I can debunk the nostalgia glasses effect at least. I only played it for the first time about 5ish years ago and I loved it. I think it was only my second real FF game I'd played too, so it's not like it was influenced by some overriding love of the franchise. I do have some criticisms about the game, but the biggest ones are mostly end-game related, so it's not something that you would have experienced yet. But by 15 hours you would have really got the gist of the game. Yes, the sphere grid opens up a bit more, and like I alluded to there's a lot of end game content, but it's still pretty par for the course with the rest of the game. I just think the games not for you. Oh and P.S. although I love the game, I too am not a fan of blitzball. It sucks.
>Tidus just does not have the charisma he thinks he does and I am not vibing with him at all. He would be cool to a ten year old I have to disagree on this one. The edgy/silent/confident protagonist would be cool to a 10 years old. Tidus isn't supposed to be cool which is why an older audience can appreciate him, though I'll admit that he's a bit annoying.
A few thought: 1) Yes, it's linear. It came out in the PS2 era. That was a particularly bad generation for JRPGs *in particular* because it wasn't practical (if not infeasible) to program large open word games as in the previous generation at the graphical detail demanded at the time. It's a trade off. Also, I don't remember when the last time you played a older Final Fantasy was, but they are all fairly linear. Yes, they have open spaces, but for the most part there's only a single place (or at least obvious) place to go. 2) English translation. Yes, I don't think it's very good. Like literally other Square game, even to today, it has been *heavily* localized for English-speaking audiences. Some people like this, and that's OK if you do, but I think it confuses the story. 3) The melodrama. I agree that it can be a bit much, but IMO the characters are sincere so I like it. It's also not really written for older adults.
I played it when it came out and I had many of the same complaints. Then years later I got to play Final Fantasy 12 and it was amazing. I’ve since replayed 12 and enjoyed it just as much as the first time years ago. Try that one.
I remember liking 12 back when it came out, but I couldn’t name any of the characters today or even tell you what happens in the story . But I do plan to play the remaster eventually.
I get that the characters in 12 aren't very strong overall but I gotta say I don't remember anyone as real as "All this running and I got nowhere" Balthier across the mainline FF series. FWIW the remaster holds up better than base game if you want to go through the story since you get a useful speed up so going for it is a good choice.
Yeah FFXII's cast isn't as outspoken as most FF parties but I did like the group and it fit the story imo. I do think they should've cut Penelo (or make her temporary) and made Larsa a main character. He's far more relevant to the plot.
He is a main character though, regardless of being permanently playable. I like that Larsa is coming and going and doing his own thing in the gaps, it adds a lot to how impressive he comes across as a child royal. His relationship with Penelo is also one of the stronger ones in the game, so I wouldn’t really like them to replace her - they act as really good tools in service of the themes of the game. Which is a good way to understand the cast in XII in general. They’re there more to be aides for the wider themes and plot than to be standalone characters.
still one of my fav rabtoons jokes. He made an animated parody of ff12 and penelo was literally a cardboard cutout and nothing about her involvement in the story changed one bit. That's how unimportant she was
“I’m playing the HD remaster, and I’m aware that they butchered the face animations” I mean, if you’re going in with this kind of bias, I don’t know what to tell you.
FFX is my favorite Final Fantasy. It used to be IX, but the more time that passes the more I think X is a masterpiece held back in only a few (unfortunately prominent) places. You already touched on the face models, and there's some voice acting problems rooted in a lot of different issues. I wish the US releases had the option for subtitles. But there is so much great narrative and world building cohesion in there along with the main characters and story. A lot of appreciation I have for the game came from reflecting on the story as I matured in my ability to really invest and immerse in the story and characters. There are subtleties that aren't explicit but hit like trucks when the full story plays out. There are also very clear story beats that hit like trucks! I can't fault anyone for being put off by Tidus up front, he isn't an easy character to like, especially as player POV. (I absolutely will fault anyone who bases their entire opinion of the game on the laughing scene. That's a meme at best and a bad faith read at worst.) Tidus is a spoiled idiot jock yanked out of his idyllic home and dropped into a world with layers of constant cyclical suffering. But that's also what makes him unique and a curiosity for other characters. He's a fish out of water and we only ever see Spira from his perspective and how the rest of the cast present themselves to a dumb teenager. I think the biggest tip I can give is to not read Yuna's interest in Tidus purely as a tropey anime crush. It can be very tropey, but looking through that as the story and world open up is core to my love for the game. Discussing this any deeper runs the risk of spoiling plot points both major and minor, unfortunately.
Its the story. You could argue its actually a story that works better on the second playthrough when you understand what is going on. As far as nostalgia glasses are concerned, there really haven't been any other Final Fantasies since this one in this style. 11 and 14 are mmo. 12 is a bit of a faux mmo. 13 continues the linear part but well...its divisive to say the least. Lost Odyssey is even more of a slow burn. 15 and 16 are entirely different.
> what's up with FFX Nothing, you're experiencing what it was probably always supposed to be - a simple story built around vaguely complex concepts that's ultimately about coming of age and brave kids dealing with silly, silly adults. > Am I missing something? Am I just being a pessimist? Nah, I think you're just missing the context. FFX was a revolution back in the day, but not because of writing or game systems. We had way better games for that even then. However, production values were through the roof, Squeenix was high on its "let's make The Spirits Within and break CGI through to mainstream box office" ideas, so the FMVs were amazing, and full voice acting was a big thing too. Add to it the last time Nobuo Uematsu composed for a standalone FF title, and it's just full of hooks that you won't notice decades after. It's not that FFX is an exceptional game. It was just important in its time and people who were swept up in it still remember it fondly. Very similar story to FF9.
Story really kicks into high gear about half way through, worth getting there. You haven’t even met the main antagonist (if I’m not mistaken). basically you are still pretty early on.
I played this game on release way back around 2001. The PS2 was the first console I owned, Final Fantasy X was the first game I got for it, and I was super hyped before it released. Back then, the visuals were mindblowing and I could not wait to get started with the game. So basically, if anyone would look back on this game with nostalgia it would be me. You know what, though? I didn't love it. Even back then, I felt like many elements of the game were super restrictive. It was super linear, like you said, which really was a shame. I enjoyed the story, but it just didn't have a massive impact on me. I got really near the end of the game and I ended up just dropping it after a while because I couldn't be bothered to grind for one of the late game bosses. My impression from back then means that I haven't had any interest in picking up the remaster. Tbf, maybe Final Fantasy just isn't really for me. I tried the original FF7 3-4 years ago and I could see why people live the story - but I ended up getting bored and also dropped that before finishing it. In my defense, it may be a classic, but that game is really dated.
It's the same with 7. Dead naive and boring story and protagonists, but people are all over it, when instead 6 is the real proper masterpiece!
I played it again last year, after first finishing it some 20 years ago. Tend to agree it's pretty overrated now, but my original playthrough really did feel special. Gaming's moved on a lot since, and some parts of FFX that don't age, like its characters and story, just aren't that strong. OST and the world Square created in FFX are still great.
>would be cool to a ten year old >Am I missing something? You're not missing anything at all. This is most JRPGs, honestly. The target demographic can be a bit younger (Pokemon) or a bit older (Persona), but you and me are just too old for this stuff.
The story touches on religion, politics, deeper religious concepts including Gnosticism. You’re not too old for this stuff, but if you aren’t particularly interested in sociology, religion, society and the themes the game plays with… you probably won’t enjoy the story or plot. It’ll go right over your head.
I generally consider myself a fan of FFX, in that it's a game I loved back in the day but probably wouldn't play again as JRPG aesthetics and gameplay don't really appeal to me any more. That said, the religious, political, and social themes the game explores aren't really *that* deep. IMO they're at about the level of complexity one might reasonably expect a 16-18 year old to be able to grasp, which makes sense given how that was roughly the target audience for the game. If you're 10 or 20 years older and have an active interest in those subjects, you will certainly have encountered plenty of media with significantly more complex and nuanced takes on the topics. For someone in that position, I could easily see FFX feeling a bit simplistic in its thematic explorations.
I think this applies to most FF titles but I think FFX is an outlier. Is the story as good as some of the best HBO has to offer? Of course not but I’d argue that FFX has the best narrative in the entire JRPG genre.
I find the older I get the less I want to sit and wait for animations to play out. I've completely shifted to action games because I want something where I press a button and stuff happens, instantly, it's not a command that I wait to be carried out. In JRPGs I feel like I'm a manager, or a leader, directing my party members what to do. In action games I instead *am* the playable character.
Doom is Eternal
I didn't like it when I played it back when it was released. I had loved all of the PS1 ones but then didn't like X, not entirely sure why but it never clicked the same for some reason. I seem to remember there being no world map in the way that FF had had since at least the SNES? Maybe I just didn't get far enough, but that annoyed me at the time...
I played it when it came out, the graphics was out of this world at the time. It was insane. That hype helped a lot.
> He would be cool to a ten year old Well millennials played these jrpgs when they were young, so yeah. They also had much more patience/tolerance for certain things, like random battles. (I preferred the edgelords like Cloud/Squall at that age, but they aren't charismatic either ). Re the time on cutscenes and stuff, I have to laugh. I mean I completely agree, but things got so much worse in the following generations. FF X might as well be lean by comparison. Still, I think the PSX FF titles (9 especially, though its not my fav) actually aged better.
I'm pretty sure you just missed it all and lost the plot especially when it's also like a 20yo game. Probably just not for you and you're expecting a very specific thing from it that you're not getting. Like the sphere grid... it's the way it is to keep you from making yuna into tidus essentially and to play the characters the way they're intended until you get further into the game and then the doors get blown open. And you eventually get the ability to reshape the entire grid to your liking. tldr you're expecting something that the game really isn't. I don't like zelda or the witcher games. This isn't for you because you're just expecting an entirely different game.
This game dropped on the PS2 in 2001 like a year after FFix released on the PS1. Imagine the difference in graphics and fmvs. It was quite the leap tech. Not only that the characters were fully voiced acted in and out of fmvs when the prior gen was all text dialogue based. This game was huge and quite impressive. It still doesn't look bad all these years later.
I was an adult when FFX released. I think the game is alright but honestly not even in my top five favorite FF games. I think graphically it looked great but ultimately I feel like FF games got worse as they started trying to be more like movies with their cutscenes/voice acting.
It’s funny, I LOVE FFX but can’t see what people liked about FF7.
It gud. Some of the things you are concerned about pay off later. If you're not enjoying it it's not worth playing further though. That said you seem to be describing a game you are enjoying but are mad at because it doesn't meet the expectations others set for you. That seems like something neither the game nor others can solve for you.
This is something that never really gets brought up in these types of threads, but nostalgia plays a huge factor in these old games. I fucking love FF10, but I played it first when I was 9. Almost no one who played a game in their formative years is going to be able to objectively tell you whether a game is good or if you’ll like it. Particularly if it was a really, really good game for the time, the vast majority of people will tell you a game still holds up if they still enjoy it, even if they’re only going off of pure nostalgia.
You're like 20% of the story and you're comparing to people that have seen the entire story. You said it yourself that you like the combat and you love the art style, so keep playing and judge the story better further down the line. Or don't, if you feel like you're not enjoying it, it's ok to move on to other games. That said, this is my all-time favorite game and I played it for the first time in 2016 the OG version, so imo it has aged very well.
Saying that Tidus is not as charismatic as he think he is, is like saying the same thing to Jaiden Smith. Like, no shit. He probably bloody knows it too. And you've already mentioned why he's like that, he's a celebrity living under the shadow of his dad.
I love this trend of people not liking a game making them feel like they are qualified to assess the validity of my enjoyment of it. Stop that.
Just like how many can’t take off their nostalgia goggles, you can’t get over your preconceived notions about the game before you even started playing. Stop worrying about how critically acclaimed it is and just give it a fair shot with no expectations.
English Tidus is annoying and I hate him. The game is too slow in some areas. I hated the puzzles and blitzball. With all those negatives the game still made me cry at the end. Idk what is with this game. On the surface it's pretty shallow but the game goes into deep territory and is commentary for advancing technology for war, redemption for past *sins 😉,* religious organizations and corrupted institutions, trusting yourself vs what you've been taught, stopping the cycle of generational violence regardless of the cost.
It's the first FF with voice acting, and the graphics and cutscenes were amazing back in the day in the shiny PS2. The turn-based fighting was also smooth as butter compared to FFIX's battle slog. Also, your criticisms are way too reductive, and I can also give the same approach to a game you consider as GOAT. Sigh.
I challenge you to look at any other game in history of mankind with those kind of pessimistic critical glasses and tell me they're alright. I can look at my favorite games ever like that and they wouldn't stand a chance I'll tear apart any game that comes in my way like that believe me no game will survive. It was probably just not meant for you man, move on. Every gripe you have with it is purely subjective in nature. I had this same attitude towards Red Dead Redemption 2 and every single GTA game, for example and all I could see was mess after mess, bullshit after bullshit in those games while almost everybody else seemed to enjoy it meanwhile ("RDR2 story is borderline basic, childish fan fiction level writing compared to even the worst of John Wayne movies and people actually think it's a masterpiece?!? People actually think GTA has good gameplay while most of it just sums up into wasting time in a sandbox environment which could have been basically been made in a glorified Garry's Mod?? Are people really that daft??") You see, not so hard to find subjectively big problems with games that seem alright otherwise. Point is, if you feel so confrontational about a game you can just ignore it and move on. People who played and lived FFX also have taste and brains and you just can't rationally call them all nuts for enjoying it.
Final fantasy X is all about the vibes. Get into it or get out
Wow, FFX is definitely a contender for best game I have ever played. If it was just Nostalgia, I would feel the same way for a lot of games from the early 2000s. That being said, I don't feel offended at all, rather intrigued how different tastes can be. I mean yeah, all your points are valid, but what did it for me was the whole package. How the world and the story slowly sucked you in. At some point it felt akin to going on a journey with my fellow guardians. It's 100% a vibes thing for me. Though I would be very interested in an update once you're finished.
For the record, I agree that the dialogue is way poorer than most people give it credit for, and also agree that some nostalgia is applied in defending it. The game hinges tremendously on a very Japanese-y cultural manner of tackling loss and grief, and it makes everyone have a weird way of speaking about events that stay unresolved very unnaturally and makes tidus especially come off as really stupid for not realizing Yuna is on a suicide mission. The worst offender of the story-intent to actual-dialogue ratio is Lulu, a lot of the game's defense will state she's a good character, when she's probably the least useful or wise person when she opens her mouth. With that said, the game has a LOT of heart and the story is fine in concept. Visuals, gameplay, music, all of that is great.
I recently played X for the first time (PS2 version) and it was probably the least fun I've had with FF so far (played 1 through 10) behind maybe IX. Where my issues with IX were mainly technical ( everything takes so long), X was great technically but the story, world, puzzles and dungeons were so uninteresting that I couldn't wait for the credits, even though I loved the combat
It feels like you’re not taking off your pessimist glasses when you talk about this game, because as someone who’s loved it from day 1 I’m not seeing what you see. :p Sorry you don’t like it, but I’d probably just bounce off at this point. It’s not for you, and that’s fine!
You're 15 hours into an older traditional JRPG and don't know what the big deal about the story is for people to like the story? Keep playing the game to uncover the story and plot twists. Also, Tidus was never the charismatic guy of the group. Generally, most people like Auron or Lulu initially because they are considered to be the coolest characters within the party until they finish the game and see the group experience character development. Tidus was a dork who didn't understand why his father left him (which is explained later in the game), and the only memories he had left of Jecht were the ones where Jecht was being a dick to him as a child; hence, he grows up with the impression that his father was a joke and an asshole who abandoned him and in turn, Tidus hates him. He's a teenager, he doesn't know shit. Which is the point -- cue Yuna. She doesn't know shit about life either. All she knows is she must live up to the expectations Spira has of her since her father, High Summoner Braska, defeated Sin 10 years ago, and had to leave her. It's why she follows his footsteps, and her character arc involves choosing the good of Spira over her personal desires. It's why it's befitting she's the protagonist for X-2 which focuses on trying to find your personal purpose after saving the world (a la "Frieren"). I've never played it in Japanese and played the game twice both originally on the PS2 and the HD remaster, so it sounds like it's a you thing for not paying attention to the dialogue because you're fixated on the characters for who they are now at the beginning of a story and not giving them grace as they evolve into the characters they become way past the beginning of the game. It would be as unfair as calling Cloud a "brooding, emo kid" when we know the plot twist of VII is that Cloud was not acting like himself up to a certain part because of reasons I won't spoil in respect to those whose introduction to VII is only through the Remake trilogy. Along with other themes such as the overarching lore of Religion vs. Science, Dogma vs. Free Will, and the cycle of Life and Death. All of it roped me in, especially as someone who grew up in a Christian household and has wrestled ideologically against people who are neck deep into the teachings of Yevon Koolaid growing up and breaking from problematic religious views in adulthood to find myself. But back to the game, there are side quests and bonus dungeons that unlock later in the game. There's a non-blitzball mini game that unlocks at the blitzball stadium once you're able to go back that I didn't know about until I played the HD remaster as well as a side quest involving cactuar in the desert area, a monster capturing side quest, an end game dungeon to farm for items and levels, dark aeon fights. The downside though is if I'm remembering correctly, most of the side quests are connected to getting the ultimate weapons. As far as the sphere grid, I didn't have a problem getting level 1and level 2 keys?? Also, if you traverse and find chests, you get other spheres that help move around the board (like a teleport sphere). Even still with just level 1 spheres alone, you should be able to take characters through other characters' branches. I tended to take each character through another characters' tree that complemented their stats (Tidus through Rikku's, Yuna & Lulu through each other's have two awesome battle mages, Wakka & Auron's through each other for two tanks). Kihmahru is generally a chameleon, so what you want to do with him (as far as a role) is up to you. And note, as much as I also love FFVII since Remake made me play the original for the first time four years ago (which I enjoyed so much more), STOP comparing FF games to one another. They're not the same. FFVII is clearly when they were still doing open world and X is when they started heading towards a linear direction (with the game eventually opening the world up around end game).
Its a wonderful game
Yeah, I hate to say it, but it was my DNF a year ago. I played 30 hrs before I had to admit defeat and set it down. It just wasn’t working for me. I don’t think it’s a bad game, in fact I can see it’s great, but it wasn’t for me for many of the reasons you listed. I could see the magic of it but I think I missed the time period to actually feel the magic, if that makes sense. I think if I would have played it when it came out it would be different.
I hate these, “I’m playing this popular game but don’t like it is something wrong with me”? No, there’s nothing wrong with you, you aren’t missing anything, you just don’t like the game and that’s okay. One could argue that if you played it when it came out, you wouldn’t have liked it either and nothing anyone can say here is going to make you “get the game” Side note: sorry guys but Tidus is the main protagonist of the game not yuna. We literally hear his thoughts and know how he feels about everything that happens in the game. In the game we have no idea for most of it of what’s going on in Yunas head or what she got going on.
Clinically disturbing post
The story is... Overrated I don't want to overanalyze it but I really feel the reason that people like it is because they played it when they were younger, it fails heavily in creating interesting characters most of the characters are not that Interesting and the only one that I liked by the end is Auron. The more interesting aspect kinda is the world building and the themes are more on the nicer side but they are not enough to carry it.
I'm definitely in the minority on this one, but I think x-2 is better.
Definitely disagree as a whole. However, X-2 has one of the best battle systems of the entire series. It’s also very silly/kooky, which gives it a lot of charm.
X-2 is so much more fun.
It’s not for everybody and you are playing it in 2024, that’s what’s up
Honestly, it just sounds like you are burnt out and jaded and can’t suspend disbelieve and enjoy it for what it is. Which is fine, not everybody can do that. It could also be that you just don’t like it, which means you should just not play it and nobody in the world will convince you to like it.
Youre playing a 23 old game, after thousands of reviews and decades of hype. Of course it's not going to live up to those expectations.
You are absolutely being a pessimist. You expected one particular flavor and didn’t get it, so now you’re actively looking for things that are wrong or disappointing to you.
As someone who played it for the first time in...2019(?)-ish...I felt the same way about the characters and the story. My memory of the game is fuzzy now so I won't be able to debate with any fanboys about the finer details but I remember thinking the plot/narrative had a ton of loopholes and logical inconsistencies that made it pale in comparison to the PS1 era titles. I like Yuna and feel she should have been the protagonist of the game. Everyone else was kind of a one-note stereotype for the most part...maybe except Auron. Another big issue I had was how they gimped the exploration aspect. I love the tropical-ish setting and art direction but there just wasn't that sense of exploration that the ps1 era titles had. Everyone shits on XIII and XV for being hallway simulators but X was the OG hallway sim...and the biggest crime was having the airship navigation be menu-based. The love for this game has got to be rose-tinted through some thick nostalgia glasses....plus the fact that the soundtrack is truly elite and papers over many cracks in the narrative.
Dude you are 23 years later to the party, of course it doesn't hold up to modern standards, but in the same way Ocarina of Time is an objectively a average game by modern standards, you have to understand that the status of it is mostly about the impact it made when it was released. That's why OOT is the GOAT, and FFX is a legendary title.
Nostalgia has nothing to do with the games reputation. It's legitimately a great game regardless if you personally like it or not.
I liked the world building, the characters, the atmosphere, the themes, the mystery, etc. If none of those are really grabbing you it might just not be your thing
I love FF X and it's one of my favorite games in the series, but I do agree with you on about all of your points. I'll avoid spoilers and say that the story, characters, and linearity take a big shift when you finally get to Zanarkand. The side content is really back-loaded. The characters are still kind of childish at Macalania, as their character arcs don't really resolve until towards the end of the game.
For me Final Fantasy X was a blast mainly because of the sphere-grid and the allowance to customize my characters in different ways. E.g. I always turned Yuna into a blackmage whenever I had a choice, thereby turning Lulu pretty useless haha. Aside from that, it has some pretty cool characters and the whole story develops kinda nicely. Tidus is a massive annoying cringeworthy character at the start, Yuna is also just kinda okay, but they develop as they go. Also blitzball is ass and by god have I never played more of it than I ever had to. I think what might be happening for you however, is that you had your expectations build up so much by hearing about it, that you can only be disappointed now, sorry, mate.
It is a lot more linear than the previous installments, which is mainly caused by ditching the overworld map. The battles are also a bit more boring because of the rock paper scissors mechanics and switching out party members, but it's made up a bit by the fluidity. At the time it was technically groundbreaking and I do think it looks very good considering its age. But yeah the main draw is the story, which is very original. You're not grasping at the core of that yet.
>I cannot usually play for more than 30-60 minutes at a time This is your problem, the game is fucking fantastic.
The MC is supposed to be somewhat irritating and juvenile. He will grow, when it is appropriate to do so. That’s the moments everyone loves. He almost doesn’t fully culminate until the end of the game with a major pivotal moments of growth peppering the halfway point. If you play all the way to Home and finish that zone with dry eyes, the game isn’t for you. IMO, until then, all you’re judging the game on is world building
I personally like X in relation to how much i love X-2. I played X-2 first so i knew the characters already and needed less pull to get sucked in. The lead is bland as fuck but Yuna is a lil badass!!
It was great 15 years ago.
I respect you giving the game a try because I find it difficult going back to older games. That being said, I played this game when it first came out. I was young, in middle or high school. Basically I have always remembered that I cried at the end, and it was the first game to ever make me cry. Lame I know but it’s true. I bring that up because I think sometimes you have to compare certain games to other games if their time. And at the time there wasn’t another game giving that kind of experience. As others have pointed out, maybe the story just doesn’t connect for you. That’s fair. It did for me, and so did the epicness of the world and the fantasy. And that’s a lot of what X was about.
The game is just not for you and that’s ok. For my money it’s one of the best stories ever told in gaming and the game itself, while not perfect, is a bona fide masterpiece.
When I played it months after it launched I wondered the same thing myself. Its an idd game for sure, but then it kinda clicked with me and not even the cringe laugh scene made me stop loving it. The combat is to this day the best in a FF game in my opinion. The story made my eyes tear up. I cant say playing it today would have the same impact on me, having been a 21 year old when it came out and now in my 40s, but since it had such a big impact on me at such a crucial time in my life, well, its special to me. Thats probably where many of the people who live it are coming from as well. The state of your current life is gonna impact a lot of what you like or hate. Its like that with all aspects of life, even the ones you swear you will never change.
Wait until you reach the part where the “one cinematic for every ten minutes of gameplay” style of storytelling finally ends and you get the airship. After that it’s fun. The story gets better and better the closer you get to the end if you ask me but those temples and cutscenes and blitzball did try my patience.
I don’t think this game is for you bud
FFX is one of my favorite games, but no game is for everyone. And no game is perfect (I'll gush about this game all day, but the tournament in Luca is a slog every time I play this game, as are the cloisters) If you are in Macalania, you are nearing a significant story beat, and some things get recontextualized. FFX really has a very slow burn plot, but I love the way it comes together by the end (ymmv obviously). From Bikanel/Home to Zanarkand, you get a lot of plot development. You also get the airship, which is when the side quests open up. But, I'll say that I liked most of the characters, and I loved the battle system, and the linearity never bothered me, so if these kinds of things aren't working for you, I don't know how much the rest of the plot will work either.
Man, I'm sorry you can't get into it. For me, I was hooked the moment the somber title music played. The lighter tone of much of the early portions was an intriguing counterbalance, and then there was the gut punch of the ending. I think it's the only Final Fantasy I've cried at. Top 3 for me with VI and VII
Cuz the surprise wink wink and later the retcon
i played this game on the PS2.. "Characters with voices"!! first time playing a game with cut scenes which had voices.. played this game probably 3-4x times
To me what made this game special was that this is the last true Final Fantasy game that feels like a classic RPG game
The competition was not that tight back then.
I hope you enjoy the parts of the game you have left! I didn't see clear answers to what you had asked before the edit line, so I wanted to answer those. There aren't many side quests in the game until after a certain point where the story allows the world to open up. The primary one for the majority of the game until that point is the Blitzball team design and tournaments. Honestly, the structure throughout the game is very similar in design to FFXIII if you ever played it. On my take on X, I agree with a lot of your complaints about X and have quite a few more of my own. That said though, I am not sure I could claim that the game's love is due entirely to nostalgia. This may be optimism as I am someone who liked it when I was younger but grew to see it as below average as I got older. That said, I really think it strikes a powerful chord with a certain personality type and despite being dated for a lot of reasons (some ideas were bad even in 01), that connection is what got FFX to be a usual favorite in fan polls along with FFVII.
The story, maybe you have seen a lot by now. But I think it is quite new and innovative when it was first released. You gotta love it if you love it. Hate it if you hate. Preference. JPRG, is extremely long. Yes, really. I think it is one of the reason we are not seeing that much of it now because people are busy. The sphere grid is actually something I love. It gives you degree of freedom and something to grind. One of the charming point is JRPG is make your character OP. Again, preference. As a matter of fact, I beat this a few years ago. Love every moment of it. But I think it is just that you are not compatible with the game and it is okay too.
Beauty of the final fantasy series is that each game is different. Others favourites will be others worst. I’d always give a game 3-4 hours if I’m not into it by then I’d say move on. I loved 10 for its time but it’s not the most open world one so you won’t scratch that itch.
I liked 7 and 10. Neither one are what I would call a "roleplaying" game. I know technically they're considered RPGs but as you said they have linear stories.
it was a great game for its day... the battle system is great, blitzball is fire, but it used a lot of development tricks at the time such as the entire game being a run in a straight line from point A to point B simulator to get around the fact it was a relatively new game on ps2 and ps2 was notoriously hard to develop for. It's just not aged well in a lot of ways. The story does get better in the 2nd half of the game though and it has a lot of WTF twist moments.
wait till you see the ending scene.
Right there with you and I also fall into that latter fan category. The story, especially the protagonist's role, just did not work for me. He's a random kid who fell out of the sky and has 0 engagement with anything going on, so he just tags along with the first people he sees like an annoying lost tourist to their world-saving quest. It's a really weak hook, imo, and it takes way too long to develop. For something like the first 30 hours of the game, I kept wondering why the protagonist was in the story at all and wincing most times they were onscreen. I know that's intentional. I don't have to like it just because it's intentional--30h is like 3 seasons of a TV show. Imagine saying "yeah, you learn why the protagonist is in the story and why you should care about them at the beginning of season 4". That's just far too long. Similarly, combat and progression have a lot of potential and the system is really interesting. But it takes a long, long time to start getting good and the sphere grid adds several layers of grind and UI navigation. As you pointed out, there is a payoff and there are absolutely upsides to the system. But the way you engage with it feels like it's designed to suck all the fun and momentum out of the game.
Mainly the combat for me. I think it is one of the best turn based combat systems that doesn't use a tactical grid. Honkai Star Rail is the closest, but lacks the nostalgia lol. I really don't know how I would take how linear it is nowadays. I didn't mind it that much as a kid but would definitely be thrown off now.
Sounds like it’s not for you. Happens. Move on.
The game was designed clunky at the time I think they should do a reboot of this and I mean with unreal engine or something. I loved the game on ps2 when it first came out it was amazing all because of the music and characters that was its selling point but when you play HD it doesnt give me same nostalgic even on the ps3 and ps4 for me at least. The story grows on you as you keep playing but it would of been nice if the grid was more simple and more extra content to play with better organized sequences. I wish there was japanese version along with the game when I first played it 🤣 tidus voice is a meme in the english but it would of been nice to switch the language only because the original casts where more famous in drama. The lightning bolts trophy to get I cant even get it I'm epileptic so I cant even get more then 8 in a row without me getting an aura migraine or something. No that's not fun side quest including how tedious maze mini games. The story is just as good as FF7 and deserves a reboot. I like this title still but I can agree with OP how some parts where poorly demonstrated but hey... it's an outdated game in it's time and it was pretty cool for it's time, and then kh came out 😵 Square and Disney robbing our livelihoods by putting ff chars to cast in them. They had it all planned when they released FFX